An Extended Break

Dear faithful friends,

I am going to be taking an extended break from lady lee. Two months at the minimum. 

I am feeling like social media has been controlling me more than I have been controlling it and am feeling the need for more good ole brick and mortar living.

Also as you know, I am a full-time Mama, a job which I take very seriously. But I also have to freelance part-time in order to help pay the bills. I have been a bit overwhelmed having to freelance as well as keep up with the work of being a Mama and taking care of home/family/life/wife stuff and so all of this points to a need to simplify and cut back in other areas. And sadly, the blog is the clearest option as one place that I spend a lot of time that I can cut back on. I know I could just post a couple times a week, and I thought about that, but in the end I really just need to get away for a bit. I will be scarce on Twitter & Facebook as well and will be pretty absent from the internet in general. 

I'm sad because I feel like I am going to miss out on so much and I know I will MISS YOU GUYS. Your comments and love are so encouraging to me. I'm also bummed because there will be an extended amount of time that I won't have documented, and I love being able to look back. But I know it is the right thing for me to do right now, personally and for my little family.

I'm going to miss you so much. I hope when I come back, refreshed and with a better sense of how to balance all of the things I love in life, you will be here.

Love,

Candis

Living Pinterest Guest Addition: No Sew Vest & Scarf

My sister Stacia is here today to Live some Pinterest. When she told me she was going to be doing this vest tutorial I was really excited because I had it on my pinboard too and wanted to see how it worked out! She writes the fashion blog, Free to be Stacia Lee, so this is a perfect pin for her to tackle!

***

Hi Lady Lee readers!  Today I'm guest posting about my latest living pinterest.
I saw this pin and knew I had to try it.

Source: theseams.blogspot.com via Stacia on Pinterest

So my friend Abby and I went to Joann fabrics made a few hard decisions on which fabric to purchase.  We finally choose two fabrics and went to the cutting counter.

The directions on the official blog that the pin came from said to get a rectangle piece of fabric that is 60 inches long. So we each purchased almost 2 yards of fabric.

Once we got it home and realized the fabric was one big square and that we purchased double the needed fabric we cut it in half at home.

Once we figured it out and read the rest of the directions it was pretty simple.  Abby's navy material wasn't the right kind of material and didn't hang well as a vest. The gray material that I picked up was more of a jersey knit and hung well when the vest was on.  I did notice right away that the two arm slits were already ripping.   The great thing about this project that it is a 2 in 1. So one piece with two options is pretty awesome to have in your wardrobe.

Pin It

Cost of (double) fabric: $16 (on sale with coupon)

I thought I was going to spend less than $5 total, so the price was a little bit of a surprise.

Time: 30 minutes

Result 2 new pieces. 

I hope you enjoyed this living pinterest guest post it was a fun time 

while hanging out with a great friend!

Thanks,

Stacia 

Link up with your own Living Pinterest adventures!

 ***

I'll be announcing the winner of The Limited $50 gift card later today! And don't forget to come back tomorrow for a special post from me.



The Limited: Grand Opening & Giveaway!

The Grand Opening of The Limited at Easton was last Thursday and I was invited to be there!

Westley came with me and we had a nice little time together.

They have really beautiful clothes at The Limited. Everything is so chic! They sell the kind of clothes that make you feel like a grown up without feeling old or frumpy. Their clothes are easy, effortless and expensive looking. I tried on a few things and the fit and feel of the clothes is really really good.

Speaking of trying on clothes, their dressing rooms had this really great lighting feature.

You just press a button and it changes the lighting in the room. You can see what your outfit will look like in daylight, nighttime or office lighting!

 daylight.

 night.

office.

I ended up leaving the store with a couple things that are new favorites including this blouse and this watch. I wanted this bag too, but I practiced some restraint since really the only bag I can tote these days is a backpack I use as a diaper bag. Super hot.

I also left the store with a $50 gift card to give away to one of you lucky readers! So this way you can go to The Limited and buy that bag and ship it to me. Jokes, jokes. 

Seriously though, 50 bucks is up for grabs and you can enter by simply leaving a comment on this post with your email address. 

The giveaway is open TODAY ONLY and I'll announce the winner TOMORROW!

Good luck!

There will be a  Living Pinterest guest post from my sister over at Free to be Stacia Lee tomorrow! And then a special post from me on Thursday.

***Yay! we have a winner!! Hennifer83! YOU WIN! Congratulations and thanks to everyone who played!***

Westley is 6 Months Old!

Westley turned 6 months on October 27th!

He is so smiley and squealy and sweet. He is such a happy boy and brings Drew and I so much joy. There have been times when I have been sad or stressed or anxious this month and when I look at his face I literally feel my body change from static to peace. I really just can't get enough of him. We are so blessed to have him and everyday I thank God for giving us Westley. Our little sweetie with sugary butter breath, soft cheeks and a sweet disposition. I often ask him, "Oh Westley how did I get so lucky?" and he just looks at me with his happy gum smile soaking in the love.

Here are Westley's 6 month stats:

Height - 28 inches 

Weight - 18 lbs 4 oz 

Head - 17 inches 

What he is doing:
Making a lot more sounds in his babbling, especially when he first wakes up
Rolling and scooting around
Cutting his first tooth!
Going for long walks in the Ergo with Mama quite happily
Knows and responds to his name
Knows the sign for "milk"
Knows the sign for "up"
Mostly taking only one long nap in the morning
Smiles A LOT and we love it
Holds and passes toys from hand to hand
Grew out of his infant carrier and now is in his convertible carseat




What he loves:
Looking at himself or others in the mirror
His stuffed Simba Daddy got him
When we put blanket on his face and pull it off
Peek-a-boo games
Giving him an object and then taking it away real quick, he cracks up at this!
His mobile, if you hold him close to it he will reach out at the cranes
New places and faces
New objects or toys
Just being with us wherever we are



What annoys him:
Getting his pajamas put on at nighttime, he gets impatient to eat!
Too many tickles
Taking too long to get him out of his car seat
Eating solids...he isn't that interested anymore in this
Not being able to get to things or move the way he wants to

Way to grow baby boy!

 1 week old

6 months old

Drew's 30th Birthday

When the UPS guy visits our house chaos ensues. He rings the doorbell twice and sometimes pounds on the front door. This makes Scout go insane barking which is where all the feelings of chaos come from. So on Saturday afternoon I was upstairs getting dressed and I heard the ringing and pounding and barking and knew that either Drew's gift was being delivered or someone was ignoring the "no soliciting" sign on our door.

Turns out it was Drew's gift. Drew brought in the box and when I came downstairs I saw it sitting there by the door. He looked at me, I looked at him and said, "you want to open it now?"

"yes!"

So he opened it.

I had been planning this gift for months and was so excited to see his reaction.

This is what he opened...

 

Months ago I asked our families and a few close friends to write a letter to Drew. I compiled them all with photos and had it printed in a leather bound book.

He opened up the book to the first page and tears immediately started rolling down his cheeks. There were some pages where he would just close the book and squeeze his eyes shut trying to compose himself.

It was a such sweet thing to watch. I almost grabbed the camera but I didn't want to interrupt what felt like such a sacred moment. It really was wonderful.

Bam. Best. Gift. Ever.

That was until the next day when his family got him an iphone.



More photos from birthday celebrations
(which is basically just more adorable photos of our baby)
in
3
2
1

The Buckeyes won,
he got a sweet book of letters,
a shopping trip at H&M,
his favorite birthday cupcakes,
an iphone,
played some poker with friends,
made some mountain pies over the fire,
has a wife & a baby & a family that love him completely.

30 isn't looking that bad eh Drew Jones?

It definitely looks good on you.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Trick-or-Treat

Westley had his first Trick-or-Treat on Monday!

As you saw in the video, he was Yoda for Halloween. I actually made the hat. Used a sewing machine and everything! We found the fleece robe at a thrift store and I dyed it that tan color and then I just cut the sleeves off a small brown t-shirt and put it over the robe. Voila! Yoda Baby!

We took him to a few houses on our street and I think only one person called him Shrek, although two people thought he was a girl. I explained to Westley it's because he is so darn cute and Drew let him know that when he was older he would appreciate being pretty and handsome all at the same time. We both agreed that he better be nice to girls and pick out one really nice one eventually.

Now I'm all off topic.

We collected candy, showed off our adorable babe and walked back home eating the candy. It was a great first Trick-or-Treat. Westley my dear, you make everything so much more fun!

Coming tomorrow: How myself and Drew Jones' family made him cry on his 30th birthday.

Halloweeeeeeeen Preview

I wanted Westley to be a baby chicken for Halloween and Drew's vote was for Yoda.

As you see, Drew won.



But really, who loses with a baby as cute as that?


More photos & details coming!

Giveaway: Blog Design by Mrs. and the Village!

Have you guys been over to read  Mrs. and the Village?

I think I started reading her blog like the day she started writing it.

Her name is Debbie.

She is hilarious.

I am hoooooked.

Today she is here giving away a free blog design to one lucky reader!

The following options are available if you win!

• two or three column blog design (only available for blogger templates)
• customized header
• text tabs below your header
• customized profile photo with "about me" text
• customized "find me" buttons (for twitter, fb, etc)
• customized signature
• customized blog buttons (small & large)
• one tweak per item

Choose between three blog design categories!

• Vintage & sweet
• Retro & mod
• Classic & chic

Debbie will contact the winner and ask a few questions to get a good idea on who you are and what kind of design will best suit your needs!

To enter to win please leave a comment with your email address.

You can gain additional entries by:

Becoming a follower of moi and letting me know via comment

Becoming a follower of Mrs. and the Village and letting me know via comment

&

Tweeting the giveaway and letting me know via comment

The giveaway closes Friday and I'll announce the winner Monday!

Good Luck!

***Update - Congratulations to K8te from a peony for your thoughts YOU WIN!***